Bold Media

Top 8 WordPress sites

Tuesday 28th April 2009, 7:53pm

Over the past few months I have become a big enthusiast of WordPress as a CMS (Content Management System) for use in the majority of web solutions. So, as a sign of appreciation and to demonstrate its awesome power, here are my eight favourite sites that are powered by it.

This is the first site that made me begin to realise what all the WordPress hype was about and its brilliantness means I’ll have to give it the number 1 spot.

Featuring the most venerable reviews of techno-guru Walt Mossberg, the site is one of the most up-to-date technology news sources out there. Its utilisation of WordPress is a thing of beauty and its creative approach to implementing the various features that the CMS offers is pure genius. All Things Digital proves WordPress’s capability as a credible solution for big news websites. It’s also one of the best demonstrations that WordPress isn’t just for blogs any more.

I suppose I should admit that this one is more down to personal preference for the content than the actual implementation of WordPress itself. But, screw it! It is a neat website and part of a trend that top level celebrities have begun recently to keep their fans up-to-date. I was very pleased to see Sir Richard joining such personalities as Stephen Fry and Boris Johnson in the celebrity blogosphere and I’m even more pleased that his entrance has been met by a nomination for a Webby.

It would be a crime not to put exalted WordPress creator Matt Mullenweg in my top 3 for good WordPress sites. What’s brilliant about this site is that Matt probably isn’t bothered what people think of his site – he’s just let his creativity flow and spewed forth a beautifully artistic site that is presumably a reflection of his true character. Again, it is a great example of how thinking outside the box can allow you to produce almost any site with WordPress.

London’s Mayor has had a WordPress site for some time now and it’s gone through numerous different overhauls. One of the first mainstream WordPress sites I came across was Boris’s and it has only gone from strength as his popularity and political notoriety have grown. Of course, Boris’s site does follow a more traditional WordPress layout and is effectively just a blog – but very clean, clear and entertaining.

Phil Thompson’s blog is another favourite of mine. With a combination of witty banter and informative, thought-provoking articles, his site is a useful resource for web developers and technology enthusiasts alike.

Good news for Phil at the time of writing – he has been nominated for a Big Chip award for his freelance work. Best of luck to him.

I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Stuart Johnston and I was very impressed with his clear approach to projects and the incredible attention he pays to usability. His freelance design studio and blog, entitled Johnston North, provides great information on the work that he has done and what he’s currently up to.

It’s also a good way to keep up-to-date with the latest Apple apps and other technology news.

As with most things The New York Times produces – I’m a big fan of the Freakonomics blog. An extension of the bestselling book, the Freakonomics blog carries on the same theme of how bizarre and interconnected many aspects of life are.

Along with, I believe, all of NYT’s blogs – Freakonomics is powered by WordPress. Beautiful.

Carrying superb features and the sharpest opinions and reviews from the Wall Street Journal, its magazine’s website is a superb source for entertainment and information. Again, a great application of WordPress. Rather than blather on, I’ll just leave you to have a look.